FirstMed companies file for liquidation

Published: Friday, December 13, 2013 at 12:33 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, December 13, 2013 at 12:33 p.m.

Six companies associated with the shuttered FirstMed EMC have filed for liquidation under federal bankruptcy laws.

The petitions, filed this week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Eastern North Carolina, list 1,000 to 5,000 creditors owed $10 million to $50 million. The companies' assets were listed as $1 million to $10 million.

Then, on Tuesday a FirstMed employee filed a class-action suit against the company seeking 60 days worth of wages and other compensation for about 2,000 employees who lost their jobs.

The suit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for Eastern North Carolina, says that FirstMed violated the federal WARN act in not giving advance written notice to employees of their terminations.

WARN, which stands for the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, requires employers under certain circumstances to provide 60 days' notice of covered plant closings and mass layoffs. Though the law is a federal one, the notice would be filed with the N.C. Department of Commerce.

The Chapter 7 filings by the companies "in a sense are a good thing," said Jack A. Raisner of Outten & Golden in New York City and attorney for plaintiff Branden Engle in the class-action case.

"Chapter 7 is a bankruptcy procedure that allows creditors to see what has happened to the company and to receive some value for what they are owed," Raisner said Friday. It offers an opportunity for the employees to be paid.

"Because the employers are very high up in the priority chain (of creditors), they are often able to be paid some if not all they are owed," he said.

There has been no FirstMed filing for Chapter 7 because FirstMed is "kind of a brand name" for the companies, Raisner said.

<p>Six companies associated with the shuttered FirstMed EMC have filed for liquidation under federal bankruptcy laws.</p><p>The petitions, filed this week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Eastern North Carolina, list 1,000 to 5,000 creditors owed $10 million to $50 million. The companies' assets were listed as $1 million to $10 million.</p><p>The companies are Eastern Ambulette & Ambulance Service Inc., Coastline Care, Eastern Shore Acquisition Corp., Eastern Shore Ambulance, MarMac Tranportation Services, and TransMed, doing business as TransMed of Georgetown LLC.</p><p>All have an address of 379 Front St., where FirstMed has its headquarters.</p><p>FirstMed Inc., a private medical transportation company, abruptly closed its doors Dec. 6 and terminated its employees.</p><p>Then, on Tuesday a FirstMed employee filed a class-action suit against the company seeking 60 days worth of wages and other compensation for about 2,000 employees who lost their jobs.</p><p>The suit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for Eastern North Carolina, says that FirstMed violated the federal WARN act in not giving advance written notice to employees of their terminations.</p><p>WARN, which stands for the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, requires employers under certain circumstances to provide 60 days' notice of covered plant closings and mass layoffs. Though the law is a federal one, the notice would be filed with the N.C. Department of Commerce. </p><p>The Chapter 7 filings by the companies "in a sense are a good thing," said Jack A. Raisner of Outten & Golden in New York City and attorney for plaintiff Branden Engle in the class-action case.</p><p>"Chapter 7 is a bankruptcy procedure that allows creditors to see what has happened to the company and to receive some value for what they are owed," Raisner said Friday. It offers an opportunity for the employees to be paid.</p><p>"Because the employers are very high up in the priority chain (of creditors), they are often able to be paid some if not all they are owed," he said.</p><p>There has been no FirstMed filing for Chapter 7 because FirstMed is "kind of a brand name" for the companies, Raisner said.</p><p><a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic99"><b>Wayne Faulkner</b></a>: 343-2329</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @bizniznews</p>